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Lotus Sushi & Sake'tini
4263 N. Drinkwater Blvd. | 480-994-LOTUS

                Just east of Arcadia as one heads to the hopping streets of downtown Scottsdale, sits a new restaurant poised to become one of the newest places to be seen.
                The interior dining space is not large, although it does hold two large group tables, a bar for drinks and a sushi bar. It is the spacious dining area loaded with fat white tall-backed sofas that curve around either side of a laminate table that is the place to sit.
                And if the word “sushi” scares you, not to worry, Lotus’ menu has plenty to offer those who shy away from raw fish. Granted the menu does favor a large array of specialty sushi rolls like the Flaming Lotus Roll ($12), made of crab, cucumbers and topped with shrimp, eel and avocado; there are still plenty of cooked choices for those like myself, never brave enough to venture beyond a California roll.
                We started the night with a traditional Japanese beginning, an order of Miso Soup ($3), a nice warm start floating with just the right amount of green onion and seaweed.
                My dining companion has been a sushi subscriber for over two decades and is an old hand at everything from eel to sea urchin, this night he opted for the Spicy Tuna ($6) and Salmon ($5) and pronounced both as good as any sushi he has nibbled over the years.
                My squeamish tummy was quite pleased with the Soft Shell Crab ($7) choice, and had me agreeing with my expertly-wielding chopstick partner—the Lotus version was indeed the tastiest I had ever encountered.
                For the rest of our meal, we decided to eat family style, so shared an order of the Asian Style Ribs ($8). The tender pork practically fell off the bone and was smothered in a succulently sweet barbeque sauce.
                The Assorted Tempura ($7) offers diners three choices between carrot, asparagus, sweet potato, broccolini, shrimp and zucchini. We went for the traditional sweet potato, carrot and zucchini. The vegetables were cooked to just the right doneness beneath a perfection of crispy batter and the accompanying dipping sauce was a delicious blend of salt and sweet.
                We finished up with an order of Satays ($10), choosing beef tenderloin and chicken breast from the other selections offered that included scallop, vegetable, pork loin, shrimp and something called rainbow, which I forgot to ask our server about, overwhelmed as we were from the vast selection of food offerings the Lotus menu holds. Our chicken chunks came off the skewer so moist that they did not even need a dipping sauce.
“The steak dipping sauce is a special blend made by our chef,” the server informed us as she brought out the beef tenderloin skewers, but my companion and I both agreed the stuff tasted exactly like Heinz 57 if you asked us.
                Overall, I would definitely return to Lotus Sushi again, especially if I was in the mood to tie one on, as the drink menu perched on the table had an interesting list of perennial favorites, except each had an Asian twist like adding sake and a new name to go along with the new combinations, like the J-Pop Cocktail ($9), an Asian version of a Long Island Iced Tea.